Media Contact

FLETC Dedicates new Counterterrorism Operations Training Facility

For Immediate Release

March 18, 2008

The Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) held a dedication ceremony for a unique
advanced counterterrorism facility today at the FLETC-Glynco site.

The FLETC’s Building 76 is
an 88,000-square-foot, multi-venue training site that is a key piece of the FLETC’s
Practical Applications/Counterterrorism Operations Training Facility
(PA/CTOTF). These facilities are
a vital component of the expanded mission and training requirements of FLETC’s
more than 80 Partner Organizations.

A former dormitory was
converted to simulate a Federal building (including a courthouse, cell block,
intake office, detainee processing areas and prisoner interview areas), hotel,
motel, crime-scene-investigation apartments, restaurant and tactical training
areas. The training venues are intended
to replicate real-world settings, and designed to meet the goal of providing
trainees with conceivable situations in a controlled training environment.

“The
events on September 11 changed the way law enforcement trains by requiring new
skills to combat terrorism,”
said FLETC Director Connie Patrick. “These facilities were specifically built to
allow our Partner Organizations to develop these specialized skills.”

The keynote speaker at the
event was Wayne Anderson, Deputy Assistant Director for FLETC’s Charleston
Operations, who spoke about his experience working in the World Trade
Center complex during the
September 11 terrorist attacks.

Anderson ended his speech with the reminder
that our country still needs to be vigilant about security, and the danger of
becoming complacent.

"Serving in
the Secret Service was a lot like having a front seat in history. I can tell
you from personal experience that having that front seat is not always
desirable. There are many events throughout our history we would like to be
able to erase or perhaps to have prevented such as assassinations, world wars,
conflicts, and natural disasters. To
that list we now add the events of September 11, 2001."

The ceremony also
featured a color guard
provided by the New York Police Department and The Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey Police Force.

FLETC Director Connie
Patrick, and several other FLETC Partner Organizations representatives,
unveiled the facility’s on-site memorial art piece in honor of the victims of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The centerpiece of the memorial
is an “I” beam from the World Trade Center,
which was donated by the city of New
York. The beam
is shielded by white marble to represent respect, love and remembrance; nine
pieces to the left and 11 pieces to the right. The sculpture was created in remembrance of
the tragic events on September 11, 2001.

“Both our training facility and the memorial were shaped by the heroic
actions of the law enforcement professional who made the ultimate sacrifice on
that fateful autumn day,” said Director Patrick.